:huh: As the requlars on this site know I'm one of the unfortunate owners of a blown up F7. Getting that aside lets look at the hard facts, there are now over 1000 registered users of the site ,(way to go Rob) and lets assume 60 to 80% are firecat owners. Out of everyone on this site there maybe (and I'm being generous here) 10 to 12 bum motors out of these users. You're going to here more about the problems and not so much of the good stuff ,so do the math and you'll see that it's not so bad. Now that I've been a good boy can I get my sled out of the shop and back on the snow........please?
THE LAW OF AVERAGES AND POSSIBILITIES
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The internet tends to breed hysteria. There are problems, but out of everyone on this site there are what like 5 guys who had motors go south. I mean 5 or so FIRST HAND real problems, NOT what they heard from so and so. Correct me if I am wrong as I was wondering the true number. The guys with problems also tend to be more vocal, can't say as I blame em though.
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Your math does not include the hundreds of F7+5 that haven't been ridden yet. Everyone should be a little scared at this early stage.I'm sorry to add that while flying down trail 35 yesterday I passed a MXZ and red Firecat on the side of the trail. As I passed him I didn't notice anything odd, but as Brian passed him he noticed that they were hooking up the tow rope. I would have stopped if I had known there was a problem.
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822 Posts
Which sled was in front
lAST WEEK END IN TUG HILL AT A TRAIL SIDE STOP I TALKED TO ABOUT FIVE GUYS WHO OWNED A FIRECAT, THAT HAD FRIENDS THAT ALSO OWNED A FIRECATS AND NOT A SINGLE ONE HAS HEARD OF ANY ONE BLOWING MOTORS OR CHAIN CASES, EXCEPT ON THE WED, AND IN FORUMS. ITS JUST A FEW VERY VOCAL PEOPLE BITCHING THAT SEEMS LIKE THESE SLEDS ARE JUNK, BUT I THINK THIS IS THE BEST SLED I HAVE EVER BEEN ON.
Hey, I certainly am not saying my sled is junk, just sharing my experience, which to this point hasn't been good. If you want some good points here they are;1 this bad boy is just silly light compared to my old zr8 2; although I haven't had the chance to blaze down the hardpack yet, the small areas of hard snow show the potential for the cat to absolutely Rail around a corner, you will have to hang off of it but on the hard pack you can forget about the so called push ;3 the ride is truly adjustable to what you want from mattress soft to knock your fillings loose 4; power, not lugging torque city like the old 800 but for a 700 it will hold it's own. There, see it's not all bad and this is coming from a guy with a blown motor!
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26 Posts
I have been following this forum for almost two months and felt that there was alot of lame statements been made about the problems with the F7's. My dealer is one of the best. He has seen 5 of the 18 F7 come back with motor problems. The last sled was burped twice by them. Yes there could be some dealers that did not burp during predelivery. I just wish that Cat would step forward and make a statement about the engine problems.
I think there is a PDI problem, mine went south with 15 miles on it. My dealer had me back running within 24 hrs. I have 70 miles on her now and I love it. It has been all lake running so far, can't wait for snow! I would like to know how many sleds go down 2 or 3 times. If this is the case then I feel that Cat has a problem and I am sure that they will do something.
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933 Posts
I agree that A/C should come out and admit there are problems with their first year F-7.
The things we don't like on our F-7 sno-pro:
* Burned down the mag side piston at 13.7 miles.
* Blown front shock right out of the box(still on order)
* Rear flap gets sucked into the track.
* Rear idlers rubbing on the cross-shaft.
* The routing of the oil line under the clutch in the frame rails.
* The pipe has cracked on the seam on the 180 deg. bend.
* Damaged decals right out of the box (was worth a cover from the dealer)
The things we like:
* It's fast.
* Great rider positioning.
* Smooth in the rough. The faster you go, the smoother.
* Did I mention that it's fast?
I think that the resale on these sleds is going to be low. I believe that A/C should take them in reasonable trade towards another Arctic Cat sled. I know I wouldn't like to buy a used 03 F-7.
The things we don't like on our F-7 sno-pro:
* Burned down the mag side piston at 13.7 miles.
* Blown front shock right out of the box(still on order)
* Rear flap gets sucked into the track.
* Rear idlers rubbing on the cross-shaft.
* The routing of the oil line under the clutch in the frame rails.
* The pipe has cracked on the seam on the 180 deg. bend.
* Damaged decals right out of the box (was worth a cover from the dealer)
The things we like:
* It's fast.
* Great rider positioning.
* Smooth in the rough. The faster you go, the smoother.
* Did I mention that it's fast?
I think that the resale on these sleds is going to be low. I believe that A/C should take them in reasonable trade towards another Arctic Cat sled. I know I wouldn't like to buy a used 03 F-7.
I would not be afraid of a 03 firecat at all. With cat taking care of the updates, and with a good dealer, you would be fine. All new products have problems, and most of these seem quite trivial. I only wish we had some snow left so I could get another chance to run a firecat. Makes my 600 zl seem, well, dated!
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